Day by Day

Saturday, July 03, 2004

I spent yesterday running errands in the morning, and refinishing a chair in the afternoon. Let me just say right now that I hate varnish. No, I don't just hate it, I want to dig up the body of whoever came up with that unholy crap and burn him. As far as I'm concerned, it has to be one of the worst things you can put on a piece of furniture.

Anyways, my belt sander has been getting a workout. I've got most of the chair down to the bare wood. The girlfriend and I are going to put a nice oil stain on it once it's all clean, and then re-assemble it. We're also redoing the supports for it, since the old supports were pretty much falling apart. From what we can deduce, this chair used to belong to a bunch of vegan hippies who smoked a lot of anything they could get their hands on. I had to fill in quite a few burn marks with wood putty, and it looks like they tried to repaint the chair a few times. Grrrrrr. Once I got all the crap off the chair, I found out the wood was excellent. I can't tell what type of wood it is, but the grain of it is just gorgeous. It'll look pretty damn good once I'm finished with it.

And today I'm going out to a farm to do some log clearing, while my girlfriend dismembers little fuzzy things with the people who own the farm. As payment for my log clearing, we get to take the dismembered fuzzy things home and cook them. Yum!

So there might not be too many posts from me today. I'll see you all tomorrow.

...opined that John Kerry is unfit to be Commander in Chief. She sent it to a groiup of our extended family.

My cousin, a professor of Middle East Studies, replied with this:

I don't find Kerry's opposition to Vietnam in any way troubling, and
> unlike the quoted people, I certainly don't see opposition to that or
> any war as opposition to individuals (and obviously not as "treason").
> But Kerry is a decorated veteran who had the guts, upon his return
> stateside, to protest an unjust war. Most Americans then and now agreed
> with him, and because of the antiwar movement the US had no choice but
> to start withdrawing slowly over time, saving the lives of thousands of
> US soldiers and sailors. He also acknowledged that at times, by some
> people in some places, atrocities were committed by US troops -- which
> isn't even a question. We know this happened, as it has now in Iraq.
>
> Unlike Kerry, who volunteered to fight despite his personal opposition
> to the war, Bush used his family's contacts to get into the air national
> guard, and then went AWOL for much of his "service". There are countless
> Vietnam vets organized in each of the 50 states to back Kerry. Back in
> Vietnam, and today in an even more unecessary war, personally I am sick
> of these people accusing all who disagree or oppose military adventurism
> of "treason". And while I too have problems with Kerry, there is simply
> no comparison between Bush and Kerry in terms of their national service,
> intelligence, knowledge of the world, and expertise on defense and
> security ... Bush comes up short every time. Despite the misinformation
> the White House is spreading in TV commercials, Kerry's specialties for
> decades of service as a legislator are defense, security, and support
> for armed forces personnel.
>
> Whether anyone likes it or not, there is no chance of this country
> having an iota of respect left internationally, if Bush is actually
> returned to office. His administration is the best recruiting tool
> terrorists could ever have asked for. Many people not named Bush have
> already payed a terrible price for that and more will follow. The damage
> the Bush regime has done to American democracy and American security
> will take years to repair. But at least regime change at home would
> provide a start.
>
> Bush can't run on his economic and social policies obviously, since they
> have been so disasterous, but even his supposed "strength" is a joke. He
> is simply not the defense and security candidate. He has made our
> country less secure than at any time since WWII. He also is responsible
> for the completely needless deaths of more than 900 US soldiers and he
> needs to be held accountable for that. Iraq was not in any way a threat
> nor did it have the WMD arsenal the Bush people claimed . Iraq was not
> involved in 911 and did not back al-Qaida. Al-Qaida was unable to
> operate inside Iraq under Saddam (ruthless dictators like him do tend to
> crush freelance militant movements). And until Bush's war, Iraq had no
> problem with internal terrorism. Now terrorism is part of daily life and
> Bush has given the world a new stage for terrorists to flock to and
> operate out of.
>
> He says he supports the military while cutting veteran's benefits,
> military services, and military salaries in order to pay off his tax
> cuts to his real political base, the already rich and powerful (who are
> certainly not serving in Iraq or Afghanistan). His corporate Cronies
> are, meanwhile, doing very well.
>
> It's not accidental that the overwhelming majority of Middle East
> specialists, arms control specialists, and counter-terrorism specialists
> all oppose Bush. It might also explain why most people voted against him
> in 2000 too.
>
> Personally, I want my country and my democracy back and I will do
> everything in power to defeat this global embarrassment who is, to me,
> the worst and most dangerous president in American history.

So then I replied with this:

I think our economy is in pretty good shape given the "perfect storm"
formed:

- when the NASDAQ bubble, inflated by crooked investment houses, went bust,

- with the discovery of corporate fraud that lined the pockets of wealthy
executives while investors and employees got robbed, and

- with the successful attack upon Manhattan by two dozen or so
highly-motivated Saudis who trained, in America, to hijack planes and use
them as weapons.

Those three events destroyed million of jobs in America. They ALL developed
while the previous Administration's Justice Department was busying itself
with Elian Gonzales, Microsoft, and, of course, that bogeyman of all
bogeymen: Big Tobacco. Ken Lay ripped off California, Worldcom ripped off
its investors, and the 9/11 hijackers flew crosscountry flights to hone
their plan for the Big Day. Meanwhile, Joe Camel was being locked in his
closet where he belongs. Seems wacky to me.

I am hard-pressed to think of a specific Bush Administration economic policy
that has been disastrous, unless we consider the debt to be a disaster,
which we could. But blaming the loss of jobs since January 2001 on the
current President just doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

-------------------

Regarding Iraq:

The notion that we are now "less secure" is something invented out of whole
cloth by someone with a predicatble political agenda. There is no empirical
evidence to support it. It should neither be regurgitated nor rejected
uncritically.

While it is true that Iraq may have not been a threat, many of us saw no
threat at all prior to 11 Sept 2001. Turns out that we had warnings about
Al Qaeda, enumerated specifically in the now-famous 6 Aug 2001 PDB, which
the President has been criticized for not heeding. Interestingly, many of
the same folks who have criticized Bush for NOT responding to those warnings
are now critical of him for responding to CIA, FBI, Czech, and Russian intel
regarding Saddam. Interesting, but not perplexing, in an election year.

Next to lastly, hopefully no reader of this email needs to be disabused of
the notion that "until Bush's war, Iraq had no problem with internal
terrorism." Searching on Google for Iraq+mass+graves is enlightening;
there are links ranging from Fox News to Amnesty International to choose
from. NONE of them portray Iraq 1980-2003 as a place that was absent
"internal terror".

Here's a good example:
http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/politics/0000374.php

Finally, whether the invasion of Iraq was a solid decision or a disastrous
one likely won't be known for a decade or more. Could be that in 2014, Iraq
will be a functioning democracy, a beacon of freedom in a place where
[relatively] little exists today, or maybe more dominos will have toppled by
then, and the entire region will have reformed itself, much like the new
NATO nations who were freed from Soviet rule a little over a decade ago.

Or Iraq might be a fractured arena of endless civil war, a haven for
terrorists, a seething pot of resentment and hatred toward the West fomented
by the kind imperial meddling that has created much of the current
situation.

Maybe it will be something in between. But it's too early to tell, isn't
it?

I know a guy who's dad had prostate surgery last week.

The day before the surgery, he played golf.

The day after, he couldn't get out of bed.

Did the surgeons make things worse?

I don't think so.

My cousins ALL lean Left and I am certain that they are muttering all manner of things about my ignorance. Ah, well. No replies yet.

"You've got to stop beating up your women because you can't find a job, because you didn't want to get an education and now you're (earning) minimum wage," Cosby said. "You should have thought more of yourself when you were in high school, when you had an opportunity."

Thursday, July 01, 2004

I apologise for the lack of posts today. I have a headache that is actually making me ill. I don't normally get headaches at all, so I'm trying to figure out what caused this one while I take some pain reliever.

In the mean time, here's a quote from an email that a reader sent me regarding the moonbats in Seattle.

I don't bother with moonbats anymore. Its best to realize that what you're dealing with there is that person applying their world view in a fundamentalist manner. You're never ever going to change their opinion because you're not dealing with opinion. Your dealing with the equivalent of religion.

Radical, fundamentalist religion.

Which makes sense if you think about it. Seattle is not only un religious, its anti religious.. and well.. nature abhors a vacuum. If ya know what I mean.

The comments are open for discussion. As for me, I do know what you mean, all too well.

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

"Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you.. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." - Hillary Clinton - San Francisco 6-28-04

"Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you.."

Translation: You filthy rich swine! How DARE YOU!

"We're saying that for America to get back on track,"

The Hildebeast's socialist nanny-state track, that is. Where they control you, and you can't do a damn thing about it. You wonder why they want to take away your guns? Because it's much harder to enslave an armed citizenry.

"we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you."

NOT GIVE IT TO YOU? IT'S THEIR DAMN MONEY IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU COMMUNIST CUNT! But obviously the Hildebeast doesn't think so. You worked for it. You sweat for it. You busted your ass for it, but it's not your money, it's HER money! She just needs to take it from you!

"We're going to take things away from you for the common good."

Da, Comrade! From each according to his ability, to each according to his need! Ve vill make dis country into a perfect paradise, you vill see!

Just absolutely sickening. She's not even trying to hide it anymore. What a foul, corrupt, communist bitch.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be "rich"? No, I don't mean rich like Bill Gates. I mean "rich", as defined by Democrats.

Here is a good description, from one of the geese that lays the golden eggs:

Confessions of a "Rich" Businessman

John Kerry wants to repeal tax cuts for upper income Americans. Now there's a surprise: a Democratic Presidential candidate attacks the rich. But who are "the rich"? Well, as Democratic politicians define the "fortunate few at the top of society," my wife and I are, or close to it.

We're only recognized as rich quadrennially, of course--when campaigns are in full swing. But even if we make the cut solely during election times, it's fun being rich. Wintering in Aspen, summering in Nantucket, luxury cars, fancy prep schools and Ivy League colleges, hobnobbing with movie starlets and marrying heiresses, I'm living large. Oops! No, that's John Kerry's life. Come to think of it, I drive a Ford Taurus, my kids have all gone to public schools, and my vacations usually involve economy motels and breakfast at McDonald's...

This is a good read. Class warfare usually invokes images of limousines, tuxedos, sports cars, and yachts. This column provides a more realistic view of upper 5%-hood and, in general, the people paying the country's taxes and creating our jobs.

My dad retired from the Marine Corps in 1984, but he still has quite a few friend who are still somehow involved with the Corps. He's also in the Marine Corps League (they do the Toys for Tots every year at Christmas, as well as several other ceremonial functions).

After September 11th, when I was having a long discussion with my father, he told me about a retired Marine Major who called up Marine HQ (on I St. and 8th) in Washington D.C. and told them that he wanted to re-join. The Marine on the other end of the line was somewhat surprised, but took down the Major's name and info, and then put him on hold while the information was relayed to someone higher up.

After about ten minutes, another Marine picked up the phone and told the Major "I'm sorry sir, but your status is 4-I right now, we're unable to take you back." The Major was rather put out, and demanded to know what 4-I status actually was. He was told "When the Enemy is at the intersection of 4th and I St., you'll be getting a call."

By the way, the Major was a Viet Nam vet around 60 years old. Heh.

It just reminded me that there are a lot of people who want to rejoin, re-enlist, re-up, what have you, but due to age or other physical conditions, they've been told "No". Plus, the story (and the cartoon) gave me a little chuckle.

As expected, Clintons piece of Fiction auto-biography is number one on the Amazon Bestsellers List. As disgusted as I am that people still worship that cretin, I'm chuckling as I watch Hill and Bill suck the air right out of John Fonda Kerry's sails. "John who? He's running for what? Does he have a book?"

What you might not know is that a certain little book deconstructing the Fat Fuck From Flint is sitting at #8#5. A few days ago when it first came out, it was at #20.

WASHINGTON Â? As many as 7,500 retired and discharged soldiers who are not members of the National Guard or Reserve will be involuntarily recalled to active duty for possible service in Iraq or Afghanistan, Army sources told FOX News Tuesday.

(.....)

It will be the first time the Army has relied on the Individual Ready Reserve, as this category of reservists is known, in substantial numbers since the 1991 Gulf War.

And this is from Fox News, supposedly the bastion (if you listen to the moonbats) of conservative press.

Let's clear this up right now. Individual Ready Reserve, also known as Inactive Reserve, IS NOT RETIRED OR DISCHARGED TROOPS! Every initial enlistment is for EIGHT YEARS. You can serve anywhere from two years active to eight years active, but you must serve EIGHT YEARS. If you choose to serve less than eight years on active duty, your enlistment continues, either in the National Guard or Active Reserve (which is entirely voluntary) or in the INACTIVE READY RESERVE. Just because you are not on active duty does not mean that your enlistment is finished, you are simply inactive. If PFC Snuffy gets out of active duty in four years, he does not receivee his discharge papers until the entire enlistment is completed. It will come in the mail in four more years. Does everybody understand this now?

You don't drill. You don't train. You don't wear a uniform. All it means is that should the military need troops, you will get called. That's the entire function of the IRR. It does not apply to retirees, or any military service member who has already completed their eight years of service. If you do ten years in the Army, and then get out of the service, you are NOT on the IRR because you've already finished the initial eight years. Any voluntary extentions after those eight years to not tack any more time onto the IRR. That eight years is set in stone, and once you complete it, you're finished with it.

Anyone familiar with the military knows this. Anyone with a compter, internet connection, and fifteen seconds of free time can find this information. So what does it say when the Media gets a simple fact about the military such as this completely and utterly wrong?

It proves that the Media doesn't know jack shit about the military, and doesn't care to learn anything about it. THAT is why the military distrusts the media. And they have a damn good reason for it.

Don't take my word for it that the Post’s reporting is substandard and superficial. Take the word of Philip Bennett, the Post's assistant managing editor for foreign news. In a surprisingly candid June 6 piece, he admits that "the threat of violence has distanced us from Iraqis." Further, "we have relied on Iraqi stringers filing by telephone to our correspondents in Baghdad, and on embedding with the military. The stringers are not professional journalists, and their reports are heavy on the simplest direct observation." Translation: we are reprinting things from people we barely know, from a safe location dozens of miles away from the fighting. (emphasis mine)

(.....)

Since I saw Rajiv Chandrasekaran's integrity up close, I haven't believed a word he writes, or any story coming out of the bureau he runs. You shouldn't, either.

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

Fahrenheit Fact is a joint presentation between Curtis Schweitzer, blogger of a_sdf and Grant Libby, blogger of RecoveringCynic. Here we attempt to bring to light those "other" facts about Michael Moore's new film "Fahrenheit 9/11". This is not an opinion blog- it is a fact one. We make sure to source every post, and will either cite or link to the source of the provided fact. It is our desire to see a well-armed populous that is ready to evaluate the film from an informed perspective.

Cap'n Jim from Smoke On The Water wanted to leave a comment for you in this thread, but Haloscan's 1k character limit prevented him. So he emailed me the entire thing and asked if I could put it up. It's not just a comment to you, it's one of the best rebuttles to Moore's assertions that I've seen. If you would like to respond, you can email him or email me and I'll pass it on to him.

Without further ado, Cap'n Jim:

Michael, it's evident from your comments that you've most likely never held a position of real power.

I've been both a police officer and have worked at the executive level as a Divisional Director, reporting personally to the President of a Fortune 1000 corporation.

In both capacities, I've been faced with various crisis. As a cop, I've had to take very immediate action, but I've also had to effect carefully considered responses, based on my observation of both circumstances present before me and the need to consider how those circumstances develop, in order to decide on the best course of action.

As an executive, I've often had to await the reports of subordinates who themselves were having to gather facts from various departments and individuals. I don't mean just planning for the next budget meeting either. Try having a $5 million department under you, when you're out of town at a meeting, and one of your subordinates reports having been raped on your company property. Then tell me how I was supposed to "leap into
action" again?

As the leader of that Division, it would have been grossly irresponsible for me to have interfered with the specialists who were already hard at work on the problem. My job was to ensure that they did theirs, not to do it for them.

I did exactly what President Bush did. Knowing that various people were doing their job, I monitored the situation simply to ensure that the correct processes had been set into motion.

And when those people asked me for input at certain decision points along the way, I got their suggestions first, unfiltered by my having interjected my opinions into their processes. I didn't always implement their ideas, but I always made sure I knew what they thought the options were.

And on more than one instance, they had the better ideas.

An effective executive most often decides from several options either already known to, or presented to him. Most executives don't personally invent those options, but they're generally pretty damned good at putting the right ones into motion.

Most frequently too, a strong executive wants to first ensure that he's got all of the relevant facts first, before taking hasty action.

And if you don't grasp the difference between "react" and "respond", well then, enjoy your burger flipping career.

At times, patience and well-considered action is the epitome of leadership.

In the end, it's the results that count, far more than any Hollywood show of heroics.

And results damn sure count for more than making a Hollywood showing of throwing someone else's medals over the White House fence.

Insofar as international terrorism and in dealing with the nations which support it, I find that President Bush is getting excellent results.

With all the calls of "NAZI!" being flung by the Left, I started to wonder if any Leftists really knew what a Nazi was. I wondered if they actually knew what the Nazi's did, or how people under Nazi rule suffered.

Mere words barely describe the horror of Nazi rule, to be honest. But here are the words of someone who lived through it.

"By then I was 14, I witnessed all kinds of murders, hangings, and beatings," said Meyer. "It was bad; three times a week they came in and got dead people and carried them outside of the camp where they dumped them in a big pit. Then they threw lime on them to disintegrate their bodies.

"It was in that process where I thought I had my only chance to escape," said Meyer. "When a guard wasn't looking, I crawled into one of the barrels with dead people and pretended to be dead. They hauled me out and threw me into the pit. That night, before they threw lime in the pit, I crawled out from under dead bodies and escaped into the countryside."

This man's father lived through it. This is what you equate me to when you call me a Nazi. And this is why I will stomp your ass into a bloody pulp if you ever call me a Nazi to my face. If you are so ignorant, stupid, willfully blind, moronic, fuckwitted, and asshatted enough to think that people on the Right are Nazis, then you're too fucking stupid to bother with. The only thing I will do to you is put you into a serious world of hurt if given the chance. I will not debate you. I will not try to make you "see the light". By your reference to Nazis and Hitler you have shown yourself to be incapable of either rational argument or coherent thought. The only thing you are good for is a punching bag, either verbal or physical, depending on how close to me you are when you spew your crap.

Al Gore can go fuck himself. He's off his Thorozine again, and it shows. Do you want to know why the Democrats are fucked? Because when Al Gore calls people like me "Digital Brown Shirts", a good amount of Democrats take him seriously. When MoveOn.org creates ad ad that morphs President Bush into Hitler, a good number of Democrats take them seriously. When the brain-dead, drug-addled, worthless fucking parasitic moonbats carry posters and signs that call Bush and his administration a bunch of Nazis, they are equating this administration to a fascist regime that caused the brutal death of millions and the suffering of millions more.

In the Left's desperate attempts to find any mud, no matter how vile, to fling at Bush, they have dredged up comparisons that should have never seen the light of day. In their efforts to hurl insults, no matter how foul, they have smeared a huge segment of Americans. In their smug, shit-throwing idiocy the Left have proven once again that they have no grasp of historical events and even less understanding of how they relate to current events.

And I have had enough. More than enough. I have met my limit of bullshit. I have been inundated with "Bush=Hitler" crap in Seattle for too damn long, and I will no longer sit idly by, gritting my teeth, and trying to remain civil. It is long past time to simply say "No more". Comments calling me or President Bush a Nazi will be deleted. If people want to debate, fine. Let's debate. Let's argue. You can call me just about anything you want, but the first time I see the word "Nazi" that sucker is gone.

In Seattle, I'm going to be more aggressive in confronting the brain-dead who equate America to Nazi Germany. I'm going to debate them, loudly and in public. I will demand to see the gas chambers, and the concentration camps. I will demand to see the nine million dead, the mass graves, and the ovens used to burn the victims. And when the brain-dead will stutter and try to change the subject, I will tell them exactly where to go and how to get there.

And I'm asking you to join me.

Stop allowing the brain dead to spread their crap. Argue with them, as publicly as possible. Don't just sit and allow these insults to fly around unimpeded. Because I've had enough. And I hope you have as well.

It never stops, does it? That fat sack of crap couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it.

The Smoking Gun reveals that Michael Moore is registered to vote in two states: New York and Michigan.

Although he has claimed to be an "independent” and not a Democrat, records from the New York City Board of Elections show that in reality he registered as a Democrat, the Web site reported.

"Now here's the good part: Moore is simultaneously registered to vote in Michigan, where registrants aren't even given the option of party affiliation (so he's not an Independent there either)."

And there's more: "as a New York City voter, TSG can tell you it's hard not to realize you are registered, since a voter's mailbox is regularly bombarded with candidate mail, official voter guides, and Board of Election notices about upcoming elections and reminders about the location of your polling place."

If the man (and I use that term loosely) can't even tell the truth about HIMSELF, how in blue blazes can you expect him to tell the truth about anything else?

These claims support the assertion made in the British government dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programme in September 2002 that Iraq had sought to buy uranium from an African country, confirmed later as Niger. George W. Bush, US president, referred to the issue in his State of the Union address in January 2003.

Every brain-dead fucktard out there who was screaming "BUSH LIED" never stopped to think about why the British, who first shared this intel with us, were sticking by their story through it all. They should have.

But then if they actually used their brains, they might not be Leftists would they?

And the Twisted Spinster (I love that name!) has one of the ultimate bitchslaps of that oxygen thief.

MICHAEL MOORE CAN EAT MY USED MAXIPADS. How – the – fuck – can he even have the audacity to claim that the president’s “reaction time” was any fucking thing at all – how the fucking fuck does he know what was going on in Bush’s mind? How the fuck – okay, you sack of rotting horsemeat, what would you have done that day? No doubt you would have jumped up and started babbling – to a roomful of kindergarten children, because that is the kind of grandstanding, it’s-all-about-me-and-how-I-look kind of useless creep you are – about how we were under attack and in horrible danger and we might all die and you had to leave right now and then you would have had all your beefy secret service agents lock down the school of hysterical, sobbing children and frightened, confused teachers for the entire day while you were carried off to your hideaway, because that is the sort of me-me-me, who-gives-a-shit-about-others-around-me sort of GODAWFUL WASTE OF HUMAN FLESH, ENOUGH TO FEED ALL OF ZIMBABWE WITH LEFTOVERS FOR ETHIOPIA that you are.

The United States Marine Corps has earned themselves honor and reputations the world over. In World War Two, the Germans looked for the Marines so that they could avoid them. In the Korean War, the Chinese called them "Yellowlegs" due to their yellow-colored leg coverings and avoided them like the plague. The Marines eventually had to remove their distinctive leg covers in order to trick the Chinese into fighting.

It is well known that if you need something completely destroyed within 24 hours, you send in the Marines. The Air Force can spread their power over a huge area, the Navy's carrier groups are feared world wide with good reason, and the Army can be rolling all over your ass in two-three days, but for sheer ass-kicking, bad-guy killing, rip-your-throat-out-with-their-teeth destruction on less than a day's notice, you send in the Marines.

Insurgents threatened to behead a U.S. Marine and a Pakistani driver they had kidnapped unless the Americans release all Iraqis in "occupation jails," according to a videotape on Arab television. Turkey rejected demands by militants holding three Turkish hostages in a separate standoff.

I don't give a good god-damn if this guy was the second coming of christ, he's a damn MARINE! And if he's a Corporal, that means he's at least fairly good at his job! The fact that these camel-humping J.E.R.M.s might cut his head off is going to send the entire Corps into a bloodlust. And if yellow bellied useless fucks in the State Department could pull their mouths off of the Left's shriveled cock and think for themselves JUST ONCE, they'll let the Marines go in and do what they need to do.

Enough of this bullshit. The gloves need to come off. Right. Fucking. Now.

Regarding those who think the Big Greasy Crap Monster is the second coming and that F911 is scripture:

It’s funny that they seem to believe that people will see Moore-on’s shiny happy version of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and simply go. “Wow! I was soo wrong about Hussein. Look at the kids flying kites. Man! I’m voting for Kerry.” He also takes a huge shit on the war in Afghanistan by implying it was done so we could build an oil pipeline. They must assume that people will see this and say, “Man! And I just thought we did it because Usama Bin Laden and al Qaeda were being supported by the Taliban and they told us where to stick it when we asked them to give him (and the other terrorists) up. Now I know it was just for a pipeline that has yet to materialize. Damn! I’m voting for Kerry.”

In other words. These idiots forget that their shit flies on the evening news because the assholes there-in constantly defend their meme driven stories in successive news segments...in essence tempering their message when it falls outside the main stream. Moore-on’s shit sandwich is by nature a stand alone entity. Better yet, it is a finite record of the a plethora of stupid crap that these ever braying jackasses believe. It is also (at present time thanks to the hype) serving as a billboard of no return for the same. If the donks embrace it, they share it’s fate. If they don’t, they risk pissing off their base. A tasty double edge sword that we couldn’t dream of cooking up ourselves. Hatred only gets you so far. Moore let it dominate his message. He quantified leftist hatred and let it shade his representation of recent history and current events that people witnessed/are witnessing for themselves. As this film is discussed, it’s flaws will become more and more appearant and those that clung to this stinking butt loaf will ride it down the hole at the bottom of the shitter.

Sunday, June 27, 2004

I remember commenting on The Rott about the Korean who was beheaded by the J.E.R.M.s. I believe my comment at the time was "Korea is known as the 'Land of the Morning Calm' because if you piss off a Korean, you're dead before sunrise."

So it didn't suprise me when I found this link over at Florida Cracker. In the double-speak found so often in the news, the first few paragraphs are about how Koreans want their people out, ect. If you just read the first few blurbs, you would think that the entire country of Korea was sniveling in fear:

As intended by the kidnappers, the killing of Kim Sun-il, 33, an interpreter, pumped new life into a movement to stop the plan to send more troops, a deployment that would make South Korea the third-largest source of foreign troops, after the United States and Britain.

Not what I expected at first. That paragraph is almost insulting in it's tone. Reading through the article, we get to the actual meat of the story, the reaction I predicted.

An unexpected reaction (unexpected only by the idiot left - RD) was Wednesday's wave of anti-Muslim and anti-Iraqi sentiment.

"An innocent son of our nation was murdered," said one of the many messages that flooded the Web site of the Defense Ministry. "If you allow me to volunteer for Iraq, I will fight terrorists to avenge his death."

Other messages urged military strikes against terrorists. The portion of respondents to polls run by the Yahoo and Daum Web sites who said the beheading had prompted them to now back sending more troops increased by 23 percent on Yahoo and 24 percent on the Daum site on Wednesday.

At a rally in Seoul, conservative protesters said the government should send combat troops to Iraq, instead of military doctors and engineers.

"We want revenge for Kim's killing," the conservative protesters shouted, burning portraits of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of the Islamic terrorists who beheaded Kim and dumped his body and head on a road.

For those of you out there who plan on living to a ripe old age, I'll give you the same advice. Don't. Piss. Off. Korea. You think I hold a grudge? These people carry grudges around with them their entire LIFE, and then pass them on to their kids!

And speaking of people you do NOT want to piss off, just what in the blue blazes did the J.E.R.M.s think they were doing when they kidnapped three Turks?

Followers of the most wanted Islamic militant in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, announced Saturday they had kidnapped three Turkish workers and threatened to behead them after 72 hours unless Turkish companies stop doing business with American forces in Iraq and called for protests in Turkey against Bush's visit.

Oh yeah, real smart! Let's kidnap a few citizens from a country known for the fact that it used to control half the civilized world, and still remembers how to kick ass and take names! Can't you just hear that little conversation going on?

Zarqawi: Allahu Ackbar, brothers! How many infidels did you capture?
J.E.R.M. #1: God is great, oh leader! We have captured three Turkish infidels!
Zarqawi: HOLY S**T! Are you high?! Have you been putting the wrong plant in the hookah? We have to put them back before the rest of the country finds out!
J.E.R.M. #2: Um.. we already sent out a message saying they'll be beheaded...
Zarqawi: (wets himself quietly)

Here's another little hint from Captain Obvious: When kidnapping people and chopping off their heads, try to avoid citizens from countries who have little reason nor desire to not force-feed you your own testicles. Turkey isn't the USA. Turkey doesn't have a group of idiots shrieking "Be nice! Be nice! They're just misunderstood!"

At this point, I think that sitting back and watching the fireworks might be a good way to spend the next few days!

OK, so I told you all about how my cats ruined my camera. Actually, they ruined my camera, three lenses (50mm, 135mm, and a 70-210mm), three flashes, two slave units for said flashes, and a doubler. Believe it or not, they're still alive. I'm just biding my time, though.

Anyways, I set out to replace the camera this weekend. I just wanted a SLR 35mm camera, nothing fancy. I knew I wouldn't be able to replace my entire set-up, but having a camera would be the first step. There were a lot of stores having sales, so I decided to go check out what was available. If I could afford a new camera, why not get one?

I'll tell you why not.

Most people who know me know that I'm a technophobe. I distrust anything with a high number of moving parts that requires an ungodly amount of training and time to use or repair. Auto transmission? No thanks, give me a manual. Hell, if it weren't for the fact that Tim controls this blog, I wouldn't be blogging right now! Template? What's that? Code? Is that like your PIN number? Bolt-action rifles and revolvers win out over semi-autos with me damn near every time. To date, I have ONE semi-auto pistol, ONE semi-auto rifle, and then a revolver, bolt action rifles, and a pump shotgun. As Kim du Toit puts it, "A revolver is like a fork. You pick it up and it works."

I want my camera to be the same way. I do NOT need to fight with the camera about who's going to do the focusing. I do NOT feel the need to argue with the camera about who controls the light aperture. And I certainly do NOT want to be forced to push this button, flip this switch, turn this knob, and then MAYBE I'll be able to take the picture on my own without some damned computer chip telling me what to do. If it has more than one or two "helping" technical doo-dads on it, I don't want it.

So the girlfriend and I head to the camera store with Hodge in tow. Once we get to the mall, I send off Hodge and the girlfriend to go check out a movie store, since I'm thinking that I'll be a while and I don't want to bore them. And I get down to business. The first store I'm at, I look at about ten different cameras. Nikon, Minolta, Cannon, Pentax, you name it and I'm looking at it. And you know what I found?

Every last one of them is automatic. Every. Damn. One.

I'm flabbergasted. When the hell did it cost LESS to put all that crap on a camera? I hand back the last camera (Nikon N75) and leave to check out another store.

Same story. Every camera that's on display is this automated hunk of crap that won't even let me control the aperture! I have to flip this and push that and twist this, and the damn things STILL won't let me control the damn camera! Hell, there's no numbers on the aperture ring itself! You have to look at the little LCD window on the camera to figure out what your aperture is set at! WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT?!?! What happens if your batteries die? "Oh, well, you'll have to get new batteries then." WHAT??? At this point I have a little bit of steam coming out of my ears, but it's not the fault of this salesman. He honestly is trying his best to help me out, but he's got NOTHING to work with. So I set down the camera I was looking at (a Cannon, I think) and look the guy straight in the eye. I tell him "Look, I want a camera that doesn't fight with me over who actually takes the picture, OK? If I can't set the aperture manually, I don't want it. Can we start from there?"

So the camera guy thinks about it... rubs his chin.... and then searches through his stock. Pulls out a Nikon box and sets it in front of me. I open it up, and voila, there it is. Fully manual. The only thing technical about the camera is the fact that it has a built in light meter, but that only shows you how much light is coming into the camera, it doesn't do anything for you. Sweet jeebus, I think I've found it. I smile, and ask the guy how much it is.

Seven. Hundred. Dollars.

I stared at the guy. Seven hundred dollars! Seven large! And trying to maintain as much control as I possibly can, I ask the guy why some computerized block of crap can retail for $250 to $350, but a camera that actually lets you run it is double the price. The guy gets a sheepish look on his face and says "Well, most people don't know how to run a camera, so they buy one that runs itself. That's the bulk of our camera sales. The professionals who want to control a camera on their own demand higher quality in their equipment, so that's where the real high-end stuff goes, thus the higher price."

Un-frigging-real. I never thought I would see the day where some automatic shitpile retails for less than the manual version. And of course, every camera shop I went to did not have my one and only option left in stock. The Nikon FM-10 was the only camera that did what I wanted it to (or didn't do what I didn't want it to, to be precise) and was within my budget.

Crap. Plan B, the used camera stores. The girlfriend finds a list of used camera stores in the Seattle area and we start to check them off. The first shop we go into (Jim's Camera, 43rd St. in the U District) has quite a few. I'm looking through the cases when I spot my camera. Actually, it's the same model as the camera that the cats just finished ruining. A Minolta X-700, slightly worn, with NOTHING that could interfere with ME taking the picture. Halle-frigging-lujia!

So we haggle on the price for a bit, and the guy gives me a damn good deal. I take the camera for a spin, and notice that the aperture ring is sticking. Could be a worn spring, could be some crap in there, I'm not sure so I take it back. Try another one. (There were about 5 X-700's in the case). The second camera has a faulty light meter, and the pictures come out severely over-exposed. Not good. So I take THAT camera back, and we do a bit more haggling. Finally after paying about $15.00 over my limit, (it stung, but it'll be worth it) I have a partial set-up again. A camera, two lenses, and a doubler. Not the set up I used to have, but a damn good start. I'll be taking a roll of film with this camera to make sure it's in good working order, but it looks like I'll finally have a camera again. And Jim's Camera treated me pretty damn well, I must say. I'd go back there in a heartbeat, and I will be going back as soon as I have the money for a flash set-up.

And if the cats find a way to screw with THIS one, I'm going to roast their little hell-spawned hides over an open flame.

(And no, I'm not telling you what I paid for everything. However, I can tell you that it was more than I could afford, but worth more than I paid.)

Hodge left on Friday morning, to continue his vacation. He's got some family in California that he's going to go see, and from there he'll spend a few days in Vegas before heading to San Antonio. It was damn good to see him, although some of his stories could curl your hair. And some of the pictures he brought back weren't the nicest either.

The ongoing saga of the camera is pretty much completed. I'll write about that in a seperate post.